Rated 5 / 5 stars2012-04-01 19:26:30

Rated 4 / 5 stars2012-04-01 06:21:28

It is one of the really rare instances when a Clock production goes above and beyond the usual conventions and pulls off a memorable performance. Here, it is "Love the Nukes", a protest piece about nuclear energy. Whether you agree with the sentiment or not, or even choose to believe that this is nothing but propagandizing, you cannot help but appreciate the polish and even some of its novelty.

After Radio Tube Clock slips and breaks open a nuclear warhead with his buddy, he scrambles for iodide to prevent precious metabolic glands from exploding. When they discover the wrapper invites them on a tour of a major nuclear power plant, they are oddly enthusiastic about going. What they discover there are the pratfalls of any nuclear power plant: technical precision to an unmanageable extent and difficulties in expelling the radioactive byproducts. Finally, they take a high elevator to the skyline, where they observe planet earth and ruminate upon the fall of humanity after a massive proliferation and self-extincting nuclear war.

The visuals are polished, to say the least. This doesn't happen with every run-of-the-mill Clock movie; this one is actually pretty to look at. Another feature are voice-overs. They aren't mixed together well so their volume levels are equalized, but this is one of the rare examples where authors with a Clock moniker are willing to voice themselves. Usually, it's a case of Speakonia or combination thereof. Here, it's all them, and it's a wonderful sensation. Let's be very honest here: isn't actual voice-overs superior over Speakonia? Yeah, thought so.

While RadioTubeClock suffers the anxiety of living near a nuclear power plant, he pretty much uses this excuse to completely tarnish it, disregarding anything beneficial or providing a fair presentation that has both sides have their say. It's a case of leading them by their noses, which is often the case with many Newgrounds flashes centered on political matters. The fact is many of us fail to have any maturity or consideration when considering the merit of an opposed viewpoint. It translates to the screen, and that causes even supporters to blink or wince or step back and see this for what it is: a piece of propaganda. A glamorous, transcendental-for-a-clock-movie piece of propaganda.

It's also an April Fools' Day Flash, so this wonderful experience of hearing Clocks talk is nothing but a gag; they aren't going to adopt this as their motif and never will. None of this should dissuade a serious discussion over how to figure out a way to solve an energy crisis or offer up a compromise that is mutually beneficial; in fact, part of why I appreciate "Love the Nukes" is that it's a perfect conversation piece. It is meant to provoke people into word or action, not to discourage it. Part of its success rides on being so one-sided, a distinction that will earn it bad press, but is not as severe a weakness as one may think. There are plenty of people who are proponents of nuclear energy, having weighed the risks and are willing to devise ways to satisfy both parties. They'll stumble upon this Clock production and go, "Screw you, that's not how it's gonna end! Here's how it ends!" And they'll make a Flash of their doomsday prediction with the same production values, and so on.

In either case, "Love the Nukes" is required viewing for detractors of Clocks, let alone the nuclear energy debaters. It shows the camaraderie and the ability of Clocks as well as their ability to adapt from old habits. It also has reasonable visual appeal, stunning and perhaps even unsettling. For what it is, it's well-engineered. I'm giving this a 4 of 5 Stars.

Thanks for the well thought-out review! I like to put a lot of detail into my work, it's satisfying seeing things that i've visualized in my head come to life. I'm planning on working with a fellow clock to balance the voice levels better in the future, although such things are usually easier said than done. I've never regretted using real voice actors, although it definitely slows down the production of things while waiting for lines from everyone.

I'm aware that nuclear energy has it's fair share of advantages over other energy sources as well, but I figured that providing one side of the argument, like you said, would help to promote discussion. i was originally going to mimic the 'scary tunnel' scene from Willy Wonka, showing scenes related to the disadvantages associated with fossil fuels, such as spills, air pollution, and conflicts, but I ended up deciding to keep the movie short and to the point, as even without this scene it still ran a good five minutes. I also figured that such imagery would make this movie a lot darker than it already is, and more so than I had intended.

As far as the Clock Crew goes, I like to think there is spectrum of different tones and production values that our flashes cover, with my works covering the more 'quality' side of things. I'm glad that my movie let you see the often lesser known side of the crew while bringing up some interesting discussion.